Story by Adam Redfern
Staff writer
aredfern@murraystate.edu
While juggling being student-athletes at Murray State, junior golfer Cole Manion and rifle senior Alathea Sellars both act as advocates for their fellow student-athletes.
Manion and Sellars are able to vocalize the problems that student-athletes face thanks to the OVC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Manion described the SAAC as a voice for the student-athletes across the conference.
“Each university has their own committee, which is more or less the student representative body for student-athletes at each campus,” Manion said. “We serve the interest of all the student-athletes at Murray State, and help fix our problems. We try our best to voice the issues that our fellow student-athletes face, and voice them to the Ohio Valley Conference if the issues are applicable to the conference as a whole.”
One example of how the committee has made a difference was with an issue raised regarding student-athletes’ time-demand requirement. Manion, Sellars and all the other representatives were able to solve this disagreement during a meeting.
“Coaches are required to send their student-athletes the schedule for the week in advance of the week, to allow these student-athletes to plan for their academics amongst other things,” Manion said. “That was a really big problem a couple years ago. We were able to bring it forward to the committee and then get the conference to enforce coaches to prepare the schedules in advance.”
Being a voice for not just one’s self, but for an entire community of student-athletes is something Sellars prides herself in, and they see it as an opportunity to change the environment in Murray State and the OVC for the better.
“I wanted to make a difference not only on my team, but also in the athletic department,” Sellars said. “SAAC has given me a chance to be a part of something bigger than myself and my team. Most of all, it has given me an appreciation for every sport and the dedication and commitment it takes to be a student-athlete.”
Manion also thought it was imperative for Murray State to have a voice as one of the larger universities in the OVC, and is proud to be that voice of change.
“My sophomore year I saw that this is something that would be an interesting opportunity; not necessarily for myself, but to represent our student-athletes,” Manion said. “There was a vacancy there where our voice at Murray wasn’t being heard. I think Murray is one of the more prominent schools in the Ohio Valley Conference. I believed we deserved to have good representation at the conference level.”
Both Manion and Sellars not only attend meetings and listen to the problems that students face, but are also involved in things like organizing a wiffle ball tournament and cookout for all student-athletes at the beginning of the fall semester, a canned food drive for Needline for Thanksgiving, fundraising to send a veteran to the OVC basketball tournament, Mental Health Awareness Week and discussing new NCAA rules and policies.
Manion and Sellars may not wear capes, but they are doing their part as unsung heroes to help make the OVC a better place for athletes from Murray State and beyond.